Me, Myself & Disaster

The palm trees are swaying gently in the breeze, the water is crystal clear. Phuket, Thailand is picture perfect and an iconic holiday destination for travellers around the world.

On Boxing Day 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern Sumatra resulting in a tsunami that reached as far as South Africa. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were worst affected, with collectively more than 200,000 deaths and 1.7 million people displaced.

In this episode, Andrew and Josh are joined by local restauranteur and Executive Manager of the Baan Rim Pa restaurant Group, Sue Ultmann. Sue was born in Australia and has lived and worked in Asia for more than 20 years. Prior to moving to Thailand, she was the Associate Publisher of TravelWeek magazine with staff across 23 countries. Back in 2004, Sue was in Phuket at the time of the tsunami, managing three restaurants within the Baan Rim Pa group.

Today on the show, Sue shares her story and experience from the impact of the tsunami in 2004, how the business community recovered from the disaster, and what advice she has for communities preparing for the threat of a tsunami. Sue also discusses the risk perception in the community to future tsunami and what early warnings were received prior to the impact of the tsunami.

The palm trees are swaying gently in the breeze, the water is crystal clear. Phuket, Thailand is picture perfect and an iconic holiday destination for travellers around the world.

On Boxing Day 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern Sumatra resulting in a tsunami that reached as far as South Africa. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were worst affected, with collectively more than 200,000 deaths and 1.7 million people displaced.

In this episode, Andrew and Josh are joined by local restauranteur and Executive Manager of the Baan Rim Pa restaurant Group, Sue Ultmann. Sue was born in Australia and has lived and worked in Asia for more than 20 years. Prior to moving to Thailand, she was the Associate Publisher of TravelWeek magazine with staff across 23 countries. Back in 2004, Sue was in Phuket at the time of the tsunami, managing three restaurants within the Baan Rim Pa group.

Today on the show, Sue shares her story and experience from the impact of the tsunami in 2004, how the business community recovered from the disaster, and what advice she has for communities preparing for the threat of a tsunami. Sue also discusses the risk perception in the community to future tsunami and what early warnings were received prior to the impact of the tsunami.

On a visit to Ishinomaki Japan. Andrew and Josh speak with the director of a museum on the ruins of a school impacted by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Aaron and Shawn from FEMA share their insights about preparing American communities for future disasters.

On New Years Eve 2019, 'apocalyptic' bushfires ripped through the NSW South Coast, destroying 89 properties in Lake Conjola. It was 1030am and local resident Greg Webb was in his office. Within minutes the temperate jumped from 38˚C to 50˚C - which Greg described as same feeling as 'opening an oven' when he walked outside. Greg's house was engulfed in flames and destroyed in the bushfires - with only the steel and concrete components of the house visible in the smouldering wreck.

While some other residents have chosen to leave the area, Greg is rebuilding - and has designed a resilient and sustainable house using the FORTIS principles. It has been a long recovery journey to this point, and Greg describes his excitement for building the new home as part of his post-traumatic growth.

In this episode, Andrew and Josh speak with Greg about the impact of the fires, how his house is both resilient and sustainable, and how as a survivor, he’s managed to negotiate the many challenges in disaster recovery.

Watch Greg's story on our YouTube Channel - @memyselfdisaster.

As Pakistan faces the impact of compounding flood disasters, Andrew and Josh speak with a leading researcher about the challenges of flood mitigation and recovery in the country

Driven by the severity and frequency of disasters, Australia is on the cusp of a transformation - according to Dr Robert Glasser. As the former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Robert has travelled extensively and worked with Governments across the world, witnessing a siloed approach to climate risk and disaster risk. In Australia, Robert says the usual approach following a major disaster would be to call for an inquiry or Royal Commissioner, however the impact of cascading disaster events is forcing a rethink on our approach consider climate change and disaster risk more holistically.

In this episode, Andrew and Josh ask Robert how he rose to become one of the most senior figures in the United Nations, what more it will take to see real action on reducing disaster risk and the impact of climate change on our national security - given the risk facing our neighbours in the Pacific.

It was 1994 and Greg Mullins was camping with his family, when the weather changed and he smelt smoke in the distance. What followed next were some of the most significant bushfires in the State’s history and a moment when the “penny dropped” for Greg that the climate was changing.

There’s no denying climate change is already impacting the way we plan for and respond to disasters. With disasters likely to become more frequent and intense, Josh and Andrew ask the question - what can we, as disaster professionals, do to make the world a safer place?

Former Commissioner of Fire + Rescue NSW Greg Mullins joins the show this week to discuss how he gathered former fire and emergency services chiefs together to lobby for action on emissions reduction and his experience witnessing first hand the impacts of climate change.

Greg has been fighting fires for more than 50 years with experience spanning many major disaster events including significant fires and earthquakes. In 2020 he chaired the The National Bushfire and Climate Summit following the Black Summer bushfires. In this episode, Greg discussed what more can be done to limit the impact of climate change, what we can expect to see in the future and what the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action are doing to bring attention to this issue.

As communities rebuild following recordi flooding in Australia, leading architect Dr James Davidson joins Andrew & Josh to discuss how to rebuild with resilience.

When the troops left Afghanistan, a crisis continued for the millions of residents who call the country home. 90% of people have lost their income, people can't access adequate heating to survive the freezing winter temperatures and food and water is difficult to find. The country has experienced protracted drought conditions, punctuated by deadly flash floods. These challenges come at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and issues at home have taken the media attention away from the humanitarian issues facing Afghanistan.

Ash Carl, Deputy Head of the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Afghanistan joins Andrew and Josh on the show to discuss what its like to be an Australian living in one of the most challenging places on earth supporting communities impacted by a multi dimensional crisis. Ash explains what steps can be taken to build greater resilience in such a complex environment and discusses gender, aid, building human capital and how our listeners can consider a role with the United Nations.

Join us as we head to Kabul and speak with Ash Carl on Australia's leading disaster podcast.